Natural Rubber (NR) Plantation

In News 

• The price of natural rubber (NR) has crashed to a 16-month low of ?150 per kg (RSS grade 4) in the Indian market.
  • The current fall in prices is attributed primarily to a weak Chinese demand and the European energy crisis, along with high inflation and an import glut, among other things

About Natural Rubber 

• It is a commercial plantation crop from the tree species, Hevea brasiliensis .
• It is grown in tropical humid climatic conditions. Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, China and India are the major NR producers globally.
• The Indian rubber industry is characterised by the co-existence of a well-established rubber production sector and a fast-growing rubber products manufacturing and consuming sector. 
• India is currently the world’s fifth largest producer of natural rubber while it also remains the second biggest consumer of the material globally. (About 40% of India’s total natural rubber consumption is currently met through imports)
• A latest report by the Rubber Board has projected the natural rubber production and consumption in India during 2022-23 as 8,50,000 tonnes and 12,90,000 tonnes respectively. 

Source: TH